Xbox One March Update rolls out today

Following the release of a February update that came with some less noticeable improvements, Microsoft has just released their highly publicized March update in lieu of Titanfall launching on March 11, with users expected to receive it either this week or early next week. According to Kotaku, the update is roughly 400 MB and comes with it a number of marked improvements:

1. “Get to your friends list faster.”

According to Microsoft, you can use “Xbox, go to friends”, use the Friends app or use the Social tile to access your friends list.

Here’s Microsoft for the clarification: “Optical out now supports 5.1 Dolby Digital, enabling devices such as sound bars and headsets with only optical in to be able to receive 5.1 Dolby Digital from Xbox One over optical. We’re also adding support for Dolby Digital surround sound over HDMI. Now you’ll be able to have the best sound quality no matter what speaker setup you are using. ”

Allows the user to adjust how much the volume increases or decreases when s/he says “Xbox, volume up” or “Xbox, volume down”.

10. “New ways to stay connected with SmartGlass.”

The Xbox One SmartGlass app will receive Xbox Live messages and will let you watch friends’ gameplay clips. Microsoft also claims you can tap SmartGlass to unsnap an app on your TV.

11. “Support for new Xbox One accessories.”

According to Microsoft: “Xbox One now supports the recently announced Xbox One stereo headset and adapter, Xbox One media remote with a dedicated OneGuide button, as well as third party headsets.”

12. “Browser improvements.”
13. “IR blasting of power and volume to TVs/AVRs is now available in all regions.”
14. “Easy sound bar setup.”
15. “General improvements. Last, but not least, a few miscellaneous update the ability to view Game Clips while in Snap mode and a new passkey feature to protect user settings.”

Corporate VP of Xbox Live, Marc Whitten, sent a letter to the press detailing what Microsoft has in plans for future updates. “We know external hard drive storage is another big one on your list. It’s on our list too. We’re working on that for a future update and will keep you posted. We’re also working on friends notification improvements and experimenting with how to make that better. Just as we do with Xbox 360, we’ll be continuing regular updates to Xbox One — some will be big, like this March update, and some will be smaller. Big or small, we’re committed to delivering continuous innovation through system updates like this one. Thanks for your feedback.”